Real Wedding: Steve Nye & Ryan Lynch

NAMES Steve Nye and Ryan Lynch LIVE IN San Francisco, CA OCCUPATIONS Steve (above left) is a vice president of customer support at an industrial software company; Ryan (above right) works as a global operations manager at Apple HOW THEY MET Modern love on Match.com WEDDING-DAY WEATHER A sunny 71-degree afternoon WEDDING TIME 4:30 NUMBER OF GUESTS 68 SAVED/SPLURGED The ceremony wasn’t outrageous, but they did go full bore the week prior by booking out the Willows Inn and renting a house to enjoy Orcas with a handful of friends THEIR APPROACH TO WEDDING PLANNING They divided and conquered, with Ryan focusing on the actual ceremony and reception with the help of his sister BACHELOR PARTIES Steve and friends went to Palm Springs; Ryan had respective guys’ and gals’ trips in the Bay Area and Sonoma HOW THEY MADE IT THEIR OWN Forgoing confetti, they put dried hydrangea petals in Chinese to-go containers for the walk back down the aisle FLOWERS Ranunculus, local blackberry, and artichoke bouquets in natural tones of green, purple, and burgundy WEDDING CAKE An assortment of Bundt cakes including vegan chocolate (made by Ryan himself), pear pecan, and carrot FAVORITE CEREMONY MOMENT Sharing their vows; they never imagined how special and real the moment would be FIRST DANCESONG They planned on Chet Baker’s “Time After Time,” but due to the island’s noise ordinances they had to turn off the music before they’d even gotten a chance to dance FAVORS FOR THE GUESTS Homemade blackberry jam, plus stuffed orcas for the kids HOW IT WAS DIFFERENT THAN THEY HAD IMAGINED It was so much more than either envisioned; they expected an intimate, simple ceremony, but it was a life-changing moment they still can’t fully grasp HONEYMOON Patagonia

I like to use unusual, untraditional elements like artichokes and blackberries. They really catch people’s eye and help make the bouquets more memorable.